1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dispenser mechanism for foamed products and particularly, but not exclusively, relates to dispenser mechanisms for wall mounted soap dispensers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wall mounted soap dispensers traditionally dispense a liquid soap. However, with liquid soap it is necessary for the viscosity to be high enough that it can be applied to the hands without running off, enabling the soap to cling to the hands while being conveyed from under the dispenser to over the sink. Two problems associated with the high viscosity of liquid soaps is that it is necessary to dispense a relatively large quantity to enable the user to easily spread the soap over the surface of his hands and also this high viscosity tends to result in a large quantity of the soap remaining in the outlet of the dispenser, which subsequently drips onto the surface or the floor below.
In an attempt to address the above problems, soap dispensers have been developed which produce foam by mixing air with the liquid soap as it is dispensed. The action of operating the dispenser causes a soap product to be sprayed into a jet of air to produce the foam. The advantage of this is that a large quantity of foam can be produced from a relatively small volume of liquid soap, reducing the amount of liquid a user requires to satisfactorily apply the soap over his hands. This reduces the cost of product required and also the frequency with which the dispenser needs to be refilled. Thus foam dispensers overcome one of the problems identified above associated with traditional liquid soap dispensers. However many foam dispensers still tend to drip as foam accumulated in the nozzles reverts to a liquid causing the nozzle to drip.